1. Field of the Disclosure
The embodiments disclosed herein relate to label printers, and in particular to cartridges for dispensing labels in a label printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are a myriad of applications where it is desirable to efficiently, routinely and inexpensively label items. For example, in a medical setting, personnel print labels on a daily basis for new medical records and for updating old medical records. Without providing additional examples, it suffices to note that there is an enormous demand for quality labeling systems.
Accordingly, a number of specialized label printers have been developed and are commercially available. Generally, such label printers are efficient and reliable but not without expense. For example, many of these label printers make use of expensive cartridges for containing and dispensing labels.
More specifically, and by way of example, typical label cartridges include a label supply that is disposed within a hard plastic disposable housing. Clearly, such label cartridges are substantially more robust than needed for simply dispensing a small supply of labels. Not only does this cost a customer more than is necessary, but such technology is also expensive when considering shipping, warehousing and disposal.
Thus, what are needed are methods and apparatus to provide improved cartridges for a label printer. Preferably, the cartridges provide for reliable printing of labels, are inexpensive to manufacture and distribute, and offer a reduced environmental impact over the prior art.